Burial-casket



No. amass. Pa tented Oct. 4, I898. w. s. WHITCDIWB & A. BARTON.

BURIAL CASKET.

(Application filed Apr. 4, 1898.)

(No Model.)

llll I W W W NlT-ED -STATES PATENT FFICE.

WINFIELD s. WHITOOMB AND GEORGE A. BARTON, or WALTON, NEW YORK.

BU RIAL-CASKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 611,880, dated October 4, 1898. Application filed April 4, 1898; Serial No. 676,422. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that we, 'WINFIELD S. WHIT COMB and GEORGE A. BARTON, citizens of the United States, residing at Walton, in the county of Delaware and State of NewYork, have invented certain new. and useful In1- provements in Burial- Caskets and ;,we do hereby declare the following to be a full,'clear,' and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make'and use the same.

Our invention relates to improvements in burial-caskets, in which we provide meansfor adjusting the head and shoulders of a corpse after the same has been placed in the casket.

To bring the head and shoulders of a corpse to the desired position, it has been customary to pad the lining of the casket to attain the end in view. This requires considerable time and labor and is often very unsatisfactory in results.

The object of our invention is to equip the casket with means whereby the head and shoulders of a corpse may be adjusted to any desired elevation after it has been placed in a casket and either before or after the cover is placed thereon and the glass slide drawn, such adjusting means, being operative from the outside of the casket, whereby the attendant is not required to pass his hand within the casket.

The invention consists in the combination with a platform of an extensible bolster located at the inner end of said platform, and adjusting-screws operatively connected with the bolster and the platform whereby the bolster may be adapted to caskets of different widths; and the invention further consists in the detailed construction of parts which will be fully described and claimed hereinafter.

We have illustratedthe preferred embodiment of our invention in the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view, parts being in section, showing our invention applied, the platform being slightly raised. Fig. 2 is a plan view with the platform removed. Fig. 3 isa longitudinally vertical sectional view through the platform and casket. Fig. 4 is a detailed perspective view of the bolster,

showing it inverted. Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the elevating-screws.

Like reference characters denote like and corresponding parts ,in all the figures of the drawings, referring to which-- 1 1 designate the side walls, 2 the end wall, and 3 the bottom,fof a casket, said parts being of the usual construction.

At thefforward end or head of the casket, on the inside thereof, we provide a platform twhich is adapted to be raised or vertically inclined from the bottom 3 and which is preferably not as wide as the interior of the casket and is thereby free in its adjustments. We have shown the platform narrower or reduced in width at one end, as at 5, although this is not essential, as it can be'made uniform in width its entire length ormade to follow the contour of the inner walls of the casket. On the under side of this platform, preferably at the end 5,we provide a cleat or plate 6, in which,at or near the middle thereof, is formed a recess 7, with a hole or aperture 7' therethrough, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained. The end 5 is adapted to have suitable locked engagement with a raising or lowering means,whereas the other end of said platform is preferably left free to give it a limited amount of play at said free end when the end 5 isbeingadjusted; but, if desired, said free end could be fastened rigidly to the bolster.

At a suitable distance from the end wall 2 and between the side walls 1 1 we provide a bolster 8, preferably extensible. This extensible bolster consists of two members 8 9, which are slidably connected together to enable it to be used in caskets which may differ in width, and thus adapt the platform of one sizeto be used in connection with caskets of different sizes. The member 8 of the bolster has a longitudinal slot 10, and in the opposing faces of the slottedpart of this member 8 are formed the longitudinal grooves 11. The member 9 of the bolster is of a width proper to fit snugly in the slot of the member 8, and at its side edges said member. 9 has longitudinal ribs 12. The two members are slidably united to be held in proper relation to each other in all extensible adjustments of the two parts of the slide one to the other.

The member 8' is provided at one end wit-h a recess 13 in its lower face, which is adapted to form a seat for a fixed nut 14, said seat being lined with a metallic wear-plate 14' to prevent abrasion of the material of which the bolster member 8' is preferably constructed. The extensible member 9 of the bolster is in like manner provided on the lower side of its.

The divided parts formed by the slotted end of the member 8 are prevented from spreading by a bridge-like keeper 17, which is fastened to the parts to span the member 9 and prevent displacement of the two parts of said bolster member 8.

Through the bottom 3 of the casket is formed a series of holes 18, corresponding in number and position to the adj listing-screws, and in these holes are secured the bearing-plates 19. These bearing-plates are set flush with the bottom of the casket and are formed with central openings 20, through which are passed the polygonal ends 24c of the adjusting-screws 21 22 22. The adj Listing-screws are provided above their polygonal ends with fixed adjacent collars 23, which are larger in diameter than the vertical holes in the bearings, and said collars serve to support the adjustingscrews upon the bearings, permitting said screws to rotate freely in the same. The lower protruding polygonal ends 24 of the screws are adapted to receive a key 25, one end of which is provided with a socket adapted to receive the polygonal end of one of the screws, and by rotating this wrench or key the screw may be correspondingly actuated to raise the lower part of the platform or bolster, to which it is connected by the nut.

The single screw 21 may be operated independently of the bolster-screws 22 22 to raise the head of the corpse by turning the screw 21 to raise the end 5 of the platform to make it assume a horizontally-inclined position. Each of the bolster-screws 22 may be operated independent of the other screws to raise the bolster and platform to an inclined or horizontal plane within the casket, as will be apparent. The bolster-screws 22 are fitted separately to the respective members of the extensible bolster 8, one of said screws engaging the fixed nut in the recess 14: of the member 8' and the other fixed nut in the recess 15 of the member 9, so that the parts can be operatively arranged for service in the manner described irrespective of any adjustment or extension of the bolster to fit caskets of different sizes.

Suitable guides 26 27 27 are provided on the end wall 2 and side walls 1 1 to engage with the upper or free ends of the screws 21 22 22, respectively. These serve to support the screws in a vertical position and insure accurate adjustment of the platform when the screws are operated.

The adj usting-screws 21 22, the bolster, and the platform having been operatively placed in the casket, the single screw 21 may be operated to raise the platform to the horizontallyinclined position by inserting the key 25 through the hole 18 in the bottom of the easket until its socketed end comes in contact with the polygonal end, 24E of the screw, then turning the key, and as the movement of the key controls the screw it will be readily seen that by turning the screw to apparently draw it out of the bottom of the casket operates to lift the fixed nut, which in turn raises the head of the platform. To lower the platform, the key and screw are rotated in the opposite direction. The bolster-screws are operated in a like manner. To have the platform on an inclined plane, it is only necessary to turn the screw controlling the part to be raised, as each screw is operated independently of the other. To raise the head of a corpse, the screw 21 is operated, and in case it is desired to lift the shoulders the side screws 22 are rotated more or less to attain the desired end.

The screws enable the attendant to properly adjust the platform and to maintain it in said adjustment.

The extensible construction of bolster allows a platform of one size to be used in caskets of different sizes, so that the attachment may be manufactured in quantities of a given size.

The corpse can be adjusted in the casket from the outside after the cover has been put on and the slide drawn, as has been explained, the adjustment being effected from beneath the casket by means of the key.

lVe are aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and in the details of construction as herein shown and described as the preferred embodiment of our invention may be made by a skilled mechanic without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of our invention. For example, we may fasten the platform rigidly to the bolster instead of allowing it to rest loosely thereon, or inlieu of the cleat on said platform we may construct it of material strong enough to furnish the recess for the fixed nuts directly in the board.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a casket, of a-platform, an extensible bolster supporting said platform, and adj listing-screws,substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination with a casket, of a b01- ster, a platform resting on said bolster, a single screw connected to the head of the platform and side screws connected to the b01- ster, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. In a casket, an extensible bolster, con- 5 sisting of two members one of which is provided with a slot and longitudinal grooves and the other member having tongues to fit in the grooves and slidingly arranged in the slot of the first-named member, in combina- 10 tion with a platform having means for adjusting the bolster and the platform, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a casket, of the bearings secured in the bottom thereof, guides fixed within the casket, a platform and bo1 ster having the fixed nuts, and the adjusting-screws fitted to the nuts of the bolster and platform and the guides of the casket and having their polygonal tenons project through the openings of the bearing-plates,

substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

WINFIELD S. WI-IITCOHB. GEO. A. BARTON. WVitnesses:

WESLEY ELLIS, M. L. BAGLEY. 

